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Rescued Garfield Heights cats get ready for adoption

It's the result of continued feeding by Nancy Segula, who is now facing jail time after years of run-ins with the city.

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — More than a dozen cats are expected to be up for adoption after the animal warden in Garfield Heights began trapping the cats. 

They were being fed by a 79-old-woman who had been warned by city leaders to stop. 

We are in the very early stages of the adoption process. None are available yet, but already we know at least 3 kittens will be available as soon as caregivers sign off. 

15 traps were set up in a Garfield Heights neighborhood, where cats had become a nuisance. It's the result of continued feeding by Nancy Segula, who is now facing jail time after years of run-ins with the city.

Now, the cats need a new home.

"There's about a dozen plus that are still running around the area," Animal Warden Bonnie Hackett, who has already captured four cats, said. "You have feces and urine smell, and it becomes a health issue just as well.

"We're not in the country. We're in a small community of houses right next to one another."

With help from the Public Animal Welfare Society, known as PAWS, the captured animals are getting help from caregivers at Stautzenberger College in Brecksville. 

"For all intents and purposes, these cats were very healthy," Amy Biechler from PAWS Ohio told us.

The only trapped adult is a male, and is considered a feral cat that will likely have to be placed in a rural barn home so he can roam freely. The others are kittens, less than two months old.

"They need to be at least two pounds and healthy, but they were all tested today," Biechler explained. "Every one turned up negative."

As for Mrs. Segula, who is considered responsible for the entire situation, this rescue effort is designed to help her too.. 

"We're trying to solve the problem, get these animals spayed and neutered, and get them adopted so that on Tuesday, we can go into the courtroom and say, 'Your honor, problem solved,'" Biechler said.

Those interested in adopting any of the cats should contact the Forever Friends Foundation. They're organizing the entire process to find these cats forever homes.

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